


You?

by SlytherInspired



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:48:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26631625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherInspired/pseuds/SlytherInspired
Summary: Since his wife's death, John Watson tries to reconcile his life as a single father and his work, not to mention the curious adventures in which Sherlock Holmes always seems to attract him in. As he is about to turn down a corporate party, one of the new surgeon at the hospital suggests that she can look after Rosie so that he can relax a bit. When he comes home that night, the unexpected happens. And he's not sure it's a good thin
Relationships: John Watson & Reader
Kudos: 7





	You?

John Watson was in the hallway of the hospital, resting his head against the white wall. He had just informed the family of his patient that she had survived her surgery and would recover from her wounds. Although it had been hard and there were some complications, the team of surgeons took good care of her and after ten long hours in the operating room, she was finally unscathed. The doctor sighed. Exhausted, he removed his scrubbing cap and closed his eyes a few seconds. The surgery could have been very different, very different indeed if it hadn’t been for the new acting surgeon, Y/L/N. She had incredible skills, and her talent came definitely from the past years spent as a war surgeon. Just recently home from Iraq, she took the job at the hospital where John worked, until Dr. Philips would come back from her maternity leave. 

Even though he felt like he could sleep for a decade, John knew he had made the right choice: to be a surgeon was more fulfilling his life compared to being a general practitioner. Although the work was more uncertain and much more stressful, nevertheless, that was what he missed the most from his past life. Unpredictability, action and sense of urgency, that is what he craved the most. Of course, his schedules were a lot more complex to manage, especially with Rosie, however, he was well surrounded.

‘’That was close, eh?’’ asked a soft and feminine voice behind him. 

‘’Mmm? Oh yes.’’ He laughed lightly. ‘’I’m seriously thinking I am too old for this.’’  
The young woman considered him with a tender smile. God, she was beautiful, he thought. With her piercing eyes and gentle smile, Y/N had a charm that mesmerized him. 

‘’You’re not old’’, she replied. ‘’Well, you’re not too old.’’

John wasn’t sure what she meant but he felt suddenly a little bit dizzy. He had to stop letting his emotions get the best of him, he thought. 

‘’So, are you looking forward for the reception tonight?’’ she asked, changing the subject abruptly.

John shook his head.

‘’No, erm. I have no one to look after Rosie and… Well you know, they won’t miss me there.’’

Y/N made a shocked expression.

‘’What are you talking about? You have to be there, John! They will honour your outstanding performance for the whole year!’’ she replied, mocking a little bit the absurdity of it.

John laughed. He knew what she meant. How could one judge performances as a surgeon? He was saving lives, it wasn’t a performance. He just did his job. There was nothing outstanding about it. 

‘’Oh, I am sure Dr. Pearson will be thrilled to accept the honours for me.’’

‘’Dr.Pearson is a dick’’, she replied. 

Even though John believed the same, he never heard someone say it out loud. After all, speaking ill of their boss couldn’t get them very far. 

‘’What is there to celebrate? There’s nothing outstanding about any of my performances, as they want to call it.’’

‘’Come on, John. Why don’t I keep an eye on Rosie so you go and prevent Dr. Pearson go on that stage instead, hum? Don’t give him the satisfaction to throw some shadow at you.’’

‘’But how about you?’’ he replied. 

She scoffed and threw her hands in the air. 

‘’I have no reason to go there. I’m just the new acting surgeon.’’

‘’Well, you have just recently returned, wouldn’t you want to have a little night to celebrate? You deserve it as much as the others.’’

Y/N laughed lightly.

‘’Take my offer, John. I’ll look after Rosie tonight. I like her. She’s such a sweetheart.’’

John thought about his daughter who, that same morning, had a major tantrum because he didn’t want to let her go to the nursery barefoot. 

‘’A sweetheart she is indeed’’ he laughed ironically.

Y/N smiled. 

‘’I’m serious, John. Go to the reception tonight. Have a drink, have fun. I mean it.’’

‘’I couldn’t possibly ask…’’

‘’You didn’t ask! I’m offering. Please, let me babysit Rosie tonight. You’re doing me a favour, it will cheer me up actually to spend some time with her. Kids are so…’’

‘’Uncomplicated?’’ he said.

‘’Yes’’, she replied, sighing. ‘’Uncomplicated.’’

John could use the night away, actually. It had been quite a long time. A little champagne wouldn’t hurt. 

‘’Are you sure?’’ he asked.

‘’I’ll be there at 7.’’

Y/N smiled, turned her feet and started walking away.

‘’She’ll be happy to see you!’’ John shouted. 

Y/N turned around and smirked. The doctor sighed. He felt weak to the knees.

-

In the middle of the night, John was finally home. At last, he thought. These classy events were not his favourites. But he was glad he went, he had a couple of hours to sip on some pricey drinks amongst his pairs and simply relax. Although he said he didn’t care for that kind of occasions, he enjoyed his night out. Still a little tipsy, he was enthusiastic to come home and finally rest. And he would get a chance to talk with Y/N a little bit. That warmed him out, despite the fact that he didn’t dare want to admit it. 

But when he entered his home, he was surprised to see that Y/N was nowhere in sight. Maybe she was with Rosie upstairs, trying to get the child to sleep? He knew it all too well, for the last couple of months, his daughter had a rough time to go to sleep. She had recurring nightmares and she usually ended up in his own bed, curled up against her father. And he couldn’t let himself forbidding her to do so: he felt guilty and constantly remembered that Rosie hadn’t a mom to turn to. He climbed the staircase and walked in front of his bedroom to lastly head to Rosie’s room. But something caught his attention and he took a few steps back. 

Curled up against each other, Rosie and Y/N were sleeping in his bed. He smiled gently at the scene. He imagined how Rosie must had insisted to sleep there. He walked lightly to his daughter, he didn’t want to wake her up. He bent down to take his daughter in his arms. God, she was heavier has the days went by. He remembered how light she felt the first time he held her. He took another look at Y/N. She seemed so peaceful in her sleep. He put his daughter in her own bed and kissed her forehead with great affection. He decided to go back downstairs. Maybe a cup of tea would calm him down a little bit. He didn’t want to go to sleep with a tipsy feeling, he knew too well how he would wake up the next day with the biggest headache if he did so. He poured himself a cup and sat in front of the telly. At this time of the night, there wasn’t going to be something interesting on, he thought. He glanced at the book that was resting on the coffee table. Perhaps he could continue to read it? After all, he had abandoned his reading habits. There was no time for it since he became a surgeon. 

An hour later, John felt some movement in the living room. When he looked up, Y/N stood there, looking embarrassed.

‘’I’m so sorry, I didn’t plan to fall asleep like this’’, she whispered. 

‘’No worries, Y/N’’, he replied, walking towards her.

‘’No, I mean, it’s impolite.’’

John sighed and smiled.

‘’Y/N I really don’t mind. You were tired and I know Rosie probably insisted to sleep in my bed. It’s really not a problem.’’

Y/N scratched the back of her head. 

‘’I don’t get much sleep these days. Even when I do, I always end up having nightmares.’’

John knew it all too well. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her sincerely. 

‘’It will pass, I promise.’’

‘’I’m being ridiculous. I haven’t been injured over there, I haven’t even been where it’s worse. I’m just being silly.’’

‘’Hey, hey’’ replied John, touching her arm. ‘’Being a war doctor can be traumatizing. You saw injuries you don’t see anywhere else. You saw what real pain looks like. It’s okay to come back with a little baggage, you know? Completely normal.’’

Y/N smiled, embarrassed. 

‘’You think I’m a coward because I ran away…’’ she said, looking down at her feet. 

John frowned his eyebrows and took her hand. 

‘’Coward? Who talked about cowardice? Hey, you served your country the best you could and when you had enough, you had enough, that’s it.’’

‘’But you, you came back because you got injured. I came back because I couldn’t stand it anymore. The helplessness was unhurriedly killing me over there.’’

‘’I know…’’

‘’And the screams, and the blood…’’

‘’I know’’, he repeated, trying to calm Y/N. ‘’Hey you’ve been back for what, four, five months? You need some time to heal properly.’’

She sighed and breathed out. She looked into John’s eyes again. 

‘’Look at me… Lousy like a baby.’’

John chuckled. 

‘’You can stay the night’’ he suggested. 

Y/N smiled and dove her gaze into John’s. He felt weak again, the feeling of her soft hand in his made him shivers. 

‘’I mean’’ he added, figuring out how that last sentence might have come out wrong. ‘’I’ll sleep with Rosie and you can stay here.’’

He smiled nervously. 

‘’I better get home, John’’, she said softly, taking her hand out of his grip.

Of course. He was so ridiculous. He didn’t mean it like this. He just wanted her to feel safe. God, he was so clumsy sometimes.

He heard his phone buzz. He rolled his eyes and decided to ignore it. His phone had rang all night long and he didn’t feel like answering. He knew too well what it was going to be about and at that very moment, he couldn’t care less. If Sherlock Holmes couldn’t take a hint, then that was too bad for him. 

‘’I don’t know how to thank you for tonight’’ he replied, still hearing his phone annoyingly buzz in his back pocket. 

‘’You don’t want to answer that?’’ Y/N said, glancing behind the doctor. ‘’At this hour? It might be important.’’

John shook his head.

‘’Oh, believe me, it’s not.’’

‘’How do you know?’’

Y/N grabbed his arm. He stopped moving. She was driving him crazy. Since she had came into his life, it was difficult for him to think about anything else. She was younger than him, but what was eight years nowadays? He was just at the beginning of his forties and she was an accomplished surgeon who had endured loss and pain, like him. She was barely younger than he was when he came back from the war. It really was the first time he felt something strong for someone since Mary, and he didn’t think it would be possible to feel this way again. And Y/N was was kind and caring, soft and smart. She hadn’t been in London for years, she was abroad for so long. She didn’t know the details surrounding the loss of his wife, she didn’t know any of it. And Rosie liked her a lot. If only he could have the strength and courage to ask her on a date. But it felt out of place. 

She was now looking at him with her big beautiful eyes and her battling lashes and her lips seemed almost too delicious to not touch. Both stood there in complete silence, staring at each other. What was she thinking about? Did she feel attracted to him? Was he hallucinating her face becoming closer? And did he ramble about her scent becoming nearer? 

But he felt her soft lips brushing against his as they slowly parted their mouth to deepen the birth of a kiss. John felt his heart beating heavily in his chest and his head buzzing with yearning. He had forgotten how good it felt. He leaned in and took her head in his hands. His phone buzzed once again and their mouths parted ways abruptly. John looked at its display and rolled his eyes: ‘’I’m so sorry’’ he said to Y/N.

He finally answered his phone.

‘’What is it that couldn’t possibly wait until tomorrow?’’ he shouted at the phone. 

Y/N observed the doctor and bit her lower lip. He rolled his eyes again and sighed loudly. He hung up. 

‘’I am so, so sorry, Y/N’’, he said, walking to the front door in an angry pace.  
Y/N smiled and went to the living room to grab her bag. This is just great, John thought. 

He opened the door and considered his friend, openly disapproving him. 

‘’John, this is neat, do you remember –?’’

‘’ – It’s two o’clock in the morning, Sherlock.’’

‘’Well, are you asleep?’’ the detective asked nonchalantly.

‘’I was about to go to bed, actually.’’

Sherlock detailed his friend from head to toe with a grin.

‘’No you were not. Now listen, as I was saying – ‘’

But he was cut by a noise in the living room. He looked at the doctor and finally noticed his very annoyed expression.

‘’Oh. Am I interrupting?’’ he asked. 

‘’Mmm, you could say that, yes’’, replied John, running out of patience. 

Sherlock smiled, mockingly. 

‘’And by going to bed, you meant…’’ 

A feminine voice interrupted their conversation.

‘’John, do you know any cab number?’’ Y/N asked, looking at her phone.

The doctor was about to answer but Sherlock was already on the case. He looked at the detective open his mouth to the young woman, about to spill one of the many cabs company numbers he had stored in his mind. But instead of speaking, his friend was petrified and no sound came out of his mouth. 

‘’Sherlock?’’ asked John, appalled by the sudden silence of his friend. 

He then observed Y/N: she looked like she had just seen a ghost.

‘’You?’’, finally said the detective, breaking the silence. His face looked horrified.

‘’You?’’ she replied with a panicked look in her face. 

They knew each other, then, John thought. And from the look on their faces, it wasn’t a happy encounter. 

\----------------------------  
My Tumblr: https://dearsherlocked.tumblr.com


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